KELOWNA - Fifth-year guard Madison Kaneda (Vernon, BC) hit a three-pointer with three seconds left to finally put away the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack 68-63. The victory marked the Heat’s sixth win of the season and sent its three graduating seniors out on a high note.

“It’s definitely going to take a little bit to sink in,” commented fifth-year Roslyn Huber (Kelowna, BC) when asked to reflect on final game of her career. “But we really just wanted to come into this like any other game.”

But they did more than that, and you could tell it was a special game indeed as they got out to an early start and did not trail at all until two minutes into the fourth-quarter. The last quarter turned into a physical jostle down to the last minute until Kaneda hit the last basket of the game to sink TRU.

Second-year guard Sarah Allison (South Surrey, BC) paced her team with a game-high 23 points that included 6-9 from beyond the arc. Third-year post Krystal Schouten (Winnipeg, MB) was quite effective for the Heat down in the paint and jostled her way to a game-high eight rebounds along with 14 points for the night. The Heat were scorching from the three-point line in the second half, netting 5-8 (62.5%) from that range.

Rookie post Rebecca Fernandez led the WolfPack with 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in only twenty minutes of play. Fifth-years Diane Schuetze and Jen Ju contributed 13 and 10 points, respectively, while grabbing 5 boards apiece. A higher turnover rate did no favours for a WolfPack squad that seemed to keep playing catch-up, as TRU recorded 23 turnovers for the night (four more than the Heat’s 19).

The win solidifies the Heat’s 2012-13 record at 6-14 in their second season in Canada West, up four wins from last year’s inaugural campaign.

Heat athletics honored Kaneda and fellow graduating teammates Roslyn Huber (Kelowna, BC) and Melissa Irish (Victoria, BC) in a ceremony following the game. All three girls have had storied careers for the program and were instrumental in the team’s bid into the CIS. Their coach, Heather Semeniuk, said it best during a speech given after the game: “Teammates for five years, friends for life.”

The family oriented attitude has been staple for Semeniuk’s teams over the years, and the bonds built amongst her teammates have been pivotal for their success.

“I think they’re unique and pretty neat because they understand each other so well,” Semeniuk went on to say about her players. “And when you can get them playing with each other, supporting each other and depending on each other, that’s when we play our best basketball.”

“It’s almost osmosis because you spend so much time together. You know inside yourself that if you ever need support you know who to go to. But truly, they’re genuine good people with a good set of values. They’re parents have done a good job, and they come here education oriented and they love the game. And there’s no better combination when you’re coaching kids. It’s been a real joy for me.”

Semeniuk admitted that she was going to deeply miss her three graduating players, but is certain that they will go on to have successful careers.

The aforementioned trio of fifth-years gave their own comments and perspectives on their respective careers and seasons after the game.

Huber: “I feel so fortunate to be able to do my five years here. Everything has been more than I could have imagined. In my first year I knew that these are the friendships that you’re going to hold onto for the rest of your life. And I think this is definitely a special group.”

Irish: “It hasn’t sunk in quite yet that I’m done. Right now I’m just pumped. It’s great because every year is so different. You have new girls coming through and some girls don’t come back, and you still keep those friendships, so that’s really cool.”

Kaneda: “My team’s amazing, my coaches are amazing … They’re not just my teammates anymore. They’re family. I’m so happy and blessed to have had the experience I’ve had the last five years. I’m so thankful … it was great to go out like this.”

Heat notes … Tonight was also a night of giving back for Athletics at UBC Okanagan as the department will be donating $50 for every three-pointer made by the Heat during the game to KidSportTM. The girls poured in 8 threes and the department will donate $50 to the charity that provides support to children in order to remove financial barriers that prevent them from playing organized sport … Huber missed a few free-throws late in the game to fall just short of 900 career points. She will hold the team record for career points at 899 after breaking it last weekend on the road.

An emotional Roslyn Huber (Kelowna, BC) hugs Kayla McFadden after her final game, a win over the WolfPack in front of a throng of friends and family Saturday night. (Photo by Dale Abbey)